To sum up my response from both(!) arguments with TrashMan into one thread:
Let me be completely open, honest and non-hostile here. None of this is meant to offend and I'll try not to use any strong language. It will, however, be the last I ever say on the matter. No further responses discussing any version of the storyline will be forthcoming.
First, I'll start off with an apology to TrashMan and anyone else with whom I've gotten frustrated in the past. I'm sure I've been out of line more than once.
Now . . . What TrashMan and others are asking me to do is change my vision of the game, one that I've been working on for the past 4(!) years, and one that I have always believed in. They want me to write their ideas while removing my own. Considering I'm not getting paid for this job and am doing it solely for the love, that's not how things work. It's not why I'm here. Whenever Destructavator very reasonably mentions the ability to create alternate campaigns, which he's done repeatedly for several years now, nobody seems to listen -- I can only assume it's because none of the people involved actually want to put in the work.
Well, I've been putting in the work for a VERY long time, and while there are certain areas of the backstory that I actually want to work on (the Mumbai massacre for example was good when we came up with it, but it hasn't stood in line with the developing game), the concepts of XVI and the cosmic horror angle are things I'm proud of. I was given the role of design lead after showing my vision for the game and my willingness to see things through to the end. That's what I'm gonna do. That involves changing my plans after discussing them with the design team (I come up with plenty of bad ideas that get dropped by the wayside), as well as sticking to my guns when I feel I'm right.
Like Destructavator, let me encourage any dissenters to create their own campaign, especially one designed by committee. It might help you understand where the project admins are coming from. Without someone to decide the creative course of the main campaign, we'd be back to where we started in August 06, everyone pulling the game in every direction, adding and removing material at random without any kind of structure. I don't think anybody who remembers those days particularly wants to see them again. I certainly don't; I worked way too hard to help bring the game where it is right now, which in my opinion is a place of serious awesome.
I'm curious what you all will think of the rewrites when they're completed, but I know they're not going to be nearly far-reaching enough for some. That's why this will be my one-stop explanation and reasoning. I'm not going to close any topics, I just won't be reading along.
Later.
Regards,
Winter